Three practical management techniques to help avoid staff burnout.

"Burnout in the newsroom definitely exists--among young people as well as news veterans," concedes Mark Hamrick, business editor at the Associated Press Radio Network. "But a lot of it isn't just because of professional concerns or esoteric management theories. People's personal lives also drift into work--and people these days are just stressed."

"If you have a stressed staff, they're probably not making judgments as well as they should," continues Hamrick, who also serves as the chair of the board of governors for the National Press Club.

"In other words, the quality of your work will suffer--from interviewing to writing to production. The goal for any manager should be to help take that pressure off." To that end, Hamrick shares his take on the underlying causes of newsroom burnout--and offers several easy-to-implement tips for countering each.

1. New media demands breed anxiety--give staff the tools to cope with this killer combo. "These days, everything is 24/7," says Hamrick. "No matter the medium, we're all under deadline pressure constantly. That's because staff are encouraged not to think of themselves as solely print, radio or TV reporters anymore. Instead, they're out there all the time and being asked to deliver content across the spectrum by their managers."

For example: "If you're working for a Michigan-based radio station, chances are that you do the story live on air--and then you have to turn something around for the website," Hamrick illustrates.

"Even if it's just a teaser, that's added pressure that didn't exist before. Now you're not just supposed to be an expert with radio experience--but you've also got to think about presenting online. It's different skill set--and a completely different writing style." His tips for helping staff cope:

* Budget for training. "I talk to so many different people in the industry who feel they need to be trained to accommodate these new media demands--but nobody's providing the resources or learning what they need," Hamrick believes.

"I was talking to a newspaper Washington bureau chief who was being asked to also be an expert in TV production. He was being asked to turn his print series into a series of pieces for local TV stations. He's doing it--but he doesn't know if he's doing it right."

* Eschew a "sink or swim" mentality. "There's a lot of anxiety in learning by doing," he continues. "'Sink or swim' just isn't a good management practice. Train your staff--carve out a budget for this," Hamrick advises.

"Take the time to give people the right tools if you want a good product. Since you're demanding quality, it's up to you to expend some capital and energy to get people what they need. Apply pressure to put these things in the budget," Hamrick advises. "There are seminars available all over the place--look for them."

* Evaluate core competencies. "Managers may not always be aware of staff competencies," continues Hamrick. "In other words, journalists might not be sure about things like online writing--but they think they'll lose their jobs if they speak up.

"My advice is to open up the lines of communication. Proactively ask staff if they're confident in what they're doing or if they feel they need help. Everybody will feel better knowing there's a real feedback loop in place that shows an awareness of what people are capable and willing to do. Otherwise, things go unsaid and frustration builds."

* Counter competitive pressures with collaboration. "Media convergence means that everybody is in competition against everyone else. We're all looking to break scoops and do something unique--so it's a pretty solitary [career]," Hamrick says. "A print guy now has to compete with a TV reporter and vice-versa because news is being posted continuously. One way to help [in this competitive environment] is to make people feel [less alone]." To that point, assigning mentors can be a great place to start, he suggests.

2. Lack of feedback leads to dissatisfaction--buy into the concept of "management by walking around." "There's a real lack of feedback in some [newsrooms]," Hamrick asserts. "There's no down-time these days thanks to the digital revolution. The offshoot is more people are being asked to do more with less--often because of [cutbacks]--and it becomes difficult to prioritize" competing demands.

His advice: "Make sure priorities are well understood on the part of the employee. For example, if my employee has just gotten back from a news conference, his first task is to get on the air and his second should be to write something for the web."

The point: "Be better at setting your staff's priorities--make sure everything is black and white. A big part of the problem is assuming things are fine or not talking about it. So get out there and communicate. Also, realize that you can't have everything If your reporter has to be on air, then help set rigid priorities and limitations--it's all about providing a feedback loop."

3. Business pressures can de-personalize staff--help reporters find balance in personal and professional lives. "At the end of the day, there is always the question of pay," Hamrick says. "Journalists are better paid now than before--but not everybody is paid well. With the increased demands (mentioned above), most journalists are finding it difficult to balance their professional and personal lives. That means family life and things like income [can be out of balance]."

In addition: "Journalists tend to be ego driven--we define ourselves by this job," he continues. "We allow our loved ones to suffer [because of this]. Something has got to give--whether it's not being a good father, as good of an earner as possible or not taking personal time. All of these thoughts are going through your head when you're under deadline pressures."

What can you do about it? "One approach is to offer flexibility in scheduling. In addition, recognize different personality types--people aren't just workhorses.

"Every organization will have to assess this differently, but it may be that somebody has to come in two hours late because he had to drive a child to school in the snow. There's no getting around these things--unless you start putting dorms in the newsroom," Hamrick concludes.

Reprinted with permission from WorkingJournalist.com, published by Infocom Group, Brian Pittman, editor.